Enes Kanter Freedom not welcome back at Sky home games after ejection, confrontation: 'He made himself into a threat'

Enes Kanter Freedom is not welcome back at Wintrust Arena anytime soon.

Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter spoke out about the recent incident involving Kanter Freedom and star Natasha Cloud on Tuesday. Kanter Freedom, Alter said, is not allowed back at Wintrust Arena until "he's able to prove to us that he's able to abide by our rules without being a potential threat."

"It was pretty clear to us that his purpose of coming here was trying to be as provocative and just see how much attention he could get," Alter said, via Front Office Sports' Colin Salao .

The incident occurred during the third quarter of the Sky's loss to the Indiana Fever on Sunday . After making a layup, Cloud turned and erupted at Kanter Freedom, who was sitting along the baseline. She had to be held back by several teammates. Kanter Freedom, who started taking steps toward the court, was then stopped and walked out of the arena by security. He was seen arguing with security and police before actually leaving the arena, too.

Alter said Tuesday that, after speaking to several people who were seated next to Kanter Freedom at the game, the dialogue started with him.

"He began to chirp with her sometime in the third quarter," Alter said. "I would characterize it as trash talking, nothing personal. Basketball-related, but enough to get her attention and to engage with her, and in my opinion, to try to provoke her."

Kanter Freedom spent 11 seasons in the NBA from 2011-2022. He legally changed his last name to "Freedom" in 2021 after becoming a United States citizen.

Kanter Freedom has thrown himself into the transgender athlete discussions that have surrounded the league in recent weeks, which started largely after Fever guard Sophie Cunningham spoke out about the topic in an ESPN feature. Cunningham supported barring transgender athletes from women's sports, which has led to anti-trans protests outside of Fever away games, among other things.

Kanter Freedom was wearing a black T-shirt with a definition for the word "woman" on it on Sunday night. He's even claimed that he is now a "WNBA prospect" on social media, and claimed after Sunday's incident that he was kicked out "for supporting women."

There are no transgender players in the WNBA or preparing to enter the WNBA, and there are no legitimate eligibility matters facing the league, either. The CBA states that "only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA." Kanter and former NBA player Royce White are not eligible to play in the league, either, despite declaring themselves eligible and saying they identified as women .

"He portrays as this victimless person who did nothing, said nothing," Alter said. "Just [someone] wearing a T-shirt … We have five different security authorities that all agreed very quickly to throw him out because he made himself into a threat."

Alter said he only learned that Kanter was coming to the game a few hours before tip on Sunday, and that his "one regret" from this incident was not telling his players about the situation. He said they didn't know where Kanter was going to be sitting ahead of time.

The Sky hold a 15-23 record entering Tuesday's contest with the Connecticut Sun . They have already been eliminated from playoff contention.

The WNBA has not announced any plans to ban or prevent Kanter Freedom from attending games elsewhere. But for now, at least Sky home games appear to be off-limits.